THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

__________

CHAPTER 4

THE LAWS REVISION ACT,

[PRINCIPAL LEGISLATION]
REVISED EDITION OF 2015

This Edition of the Laws Revision Act, Chapter 4, has been revised
up to and including 31st December, 2015 and is printed under the
authority of section 4 of the Laws Revision Act, Chapter 4.

Dar es Salaam, GEORGE M. MASAJU,

30th March, 2016 Attorney General
 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

CHAPTER 4
__________

THE LAWS REVISION ACT

[PRINCIPAL LEGISLATION]

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section Title

1. Short title.
2. [Omitted]
3. Interpretation.
4. Preparation of Revised Edition.
5. Method of compiling and binding the laws.
6. Omission of certain laws.
7. Editorial omission of certain laws or provisions.
8. Editorial power of revision.
9. Regarding alterations of substance.
10. Text of documents included in laws.
11. Records of number, date, arrangement etc., of laws.
12. Bringing into force and validity and effect of Revised
Editions.
13. Rectification of errors.
14. Continuance in force of certain subsidiary enactments.
15. Effects of annotations.
16. Constructions of reference to repealed, etc., laws.
17. Sealed copies to be deposited.
18. Distribution of Revised Edition.
19. Replacements and additional material.
20. Judicial notice of Revised Edition.
21. Continuance of text of Revised Laws for certain
purposes.
22. Place of this Act in the Revised Edition.
23. Repeal of R.L. Cap. 356.

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

CHAPTER 4

THE LAWS REVISION ACT

An Act to provide for the preparation and publication of a
Revised Edition of the Laws of Tanzania, and for their
continuous revision and maintenance up to date.

Act No. [1st January, 2005]

7 of 1994 [G.N. No. 124 of 2005]

Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Laws

Revision Act.

Omitted 2. [Omitted under (R.E. 2002)]

Interpretation 3.-(1) In this Act, except where the context

requires otherwise-
“Act” means a law other than subsidiary legislation;
“Annual supplement” means the annual supplement
of revised laws prepared pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (4) of section 5;
“applied Laws” means the United Kingdom statutes,
Orders in Council, Royal Proclamations,
Letters Patent, Royal Instructions and other
Instruments having legislative effect in
Mainland Tanzania, and includes any law
applied to Mainland Tanzania by such statues,
Orders in Council, Royal Instructions or other
Instruments;
“effective date” means the date appointed for the
commencement of this Act;
“former revised laws” means the revised editions of
the laws of Mainland Tanzania prepared in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

Edition of Laws Ordinance, 1947, as amended

by the Revised Edition of the Laws (1947-
1949) Ordinance, 1949 (Amendment)
Ordinance, 1952, and the Revised Laws and
Annual Revision Ordinance, 1955.
“laws to which this Act applies” means all laws of
Tanzania in force on the 31st December, 1999
and thereafter and any laws in respect of
which the Attorney-General may order a
general revision under section 4(2);
“Minister” means the Minister for the time being
responsible for legal affairs;
“Revised Edition” or “the Revision” means the text
of the laws of Tanzania prepared under the
authority of this Act;
“subsidiary legislation” means all Instruments,
Notices, Orders, Proclamations, Rules,
Regulations, By-laws or other instruments
made or enacted by virtue of the power
granted by an Act of Parliament.

(2) Where in any part of the Revised Edition

or in any annual supplement reference is made to
any booklet by the letters “I.L.” or “A.L.” that
reference shall be deemed to be a reference to the
booklets containing Applied Laws, and shall be read
and construed as such.

Preparation 4.-(1) As soon as possible after the

of
Revised commencement of this Act, the Chief Parliamentary
Edition Draftsman shall prepare, publish and maintain in
accordance with the provisions of this Act a Revised
Edition of the laws to which this Act applies, in a
convenient form, and such revised laws shall be
known as the Revised Edition.

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

(2) The Attorney-General may, at such

intervals as he may determine and by notice
published in the Gazette, require the Chief
Parliamentary Draftsman to carry out a general
revision of the laws in accordance with this Act.

(3) A Revised Edition shall be prepared and

published as at a date fixed by the Attorney-General
by notice published in the Gazette.

Method of 5.-(1) The Chief Parliamentary Draftsman

compiling
and binding shall cause every Act included in the Revised
the laws Edition, together with any subsidiary legislation
made under that Act so included, to be published in
separate booklets, bound or loose-leaf and each such
booklet shall contain at the beginning thereof the
title of the Act and its Chapter number.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Chief

Parliamentary Draftsman may cause subsidiary
legislation to be published in an appropriate form
separately from the Act under which the subsidiary
legislation is made in any case where it appears to
him to be convenient and appropriate to do so.

(3) The Chief Parliamentary Draftsman shall

in like manner cause the Applied Laws included in
the Revised Edition to be published in such number
of booklets as he thinks fit.

(4) In each year subsequent to the

commencement of this Act, and subject to such
directions as the Attorney- General may give in that
behalf, the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman may, as
soon as possible after the first day of January of the
year, prepare and cause to be published an annual
supplement of revised laws of Tanzania in

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(5) Each annual supplement shall contain-

(a) all Acts enacted during the preceding
calendar year, other than Acts omitted
under the authority of this Act;
(b) such subsidiary legislation made during
the preceding calendar year as appears
to the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman to
be of sufficient importance to be
included;
(c) a new and revised edition of any booklet
contained in the Revised Edition;
(d) a table of contents, a chronological table
of Acts and an index in such form as the
Chief Parliamentary Draftsman may
think fit, and a table of Acts omitted
under the authority of section 6.

(6) Where an annual supplement contains a

new and revised version of any booklet contained in
any earlier supplement of the Revised Edition, such
new and revised version shall, on coming into force
under the provisions of section 12, supersede the
earlier booklet, and the Chief Parliamentary
Draftsman shall then cause the earlier booklet to be
appropriately replaced in the Revised Edition.

Omission of 6.-(1) The Attorney-General may, by notice

certain laws
published in the Gazette, direct the omission from
the Revised Edition of any Act which in his opinion
it is undesirable or unnecessary to publish in the
Revision.

(2) The Chief Parliamentary Draftsman may

omit from the Revised Edition any subsidiary
legislation that in his opinion it is undesirable or
unnecessary to publish in the Revision because of

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

its limited application or for another reason, but in

that event a note of the omission shall, as far as is
practicable be included in the Revision.

Editorial 7. In the preparation of the Revised Edition

omission of
certain laws and each annual supplement, the Chief
or provisions Parliamentary Draftsman may omit-
(a) all laws or provisions which have been
repealed, whether expressly or by
necessary implication, or have become
spent, have had their effect or have been
superseded;
(b) all repealing provisions, and all tables,
lists and schedules of repealed
provisions;
(c) all provisions continuing in operation a
law to which this Act applies made
under a repealed provision where that
law is itself included in the Revised
Edition;
(d) all preambles to enactments, where the
omission can conveniently be made;
(e) all enacting clauses;
(f) all provisions prescribing the date when
a law or provision is to come into
operation, or the manner in which that
date is to be fixed, where the omission
can conveniently be made;
(g) all amending laws or parts of them,
where the amendments have been
embodied in the law to which they
relate;
(h) all provisions so far as they effect
changes of titles or citations of laws;
(i) all provisions the whole of which, except
provisions relating to titles and citations
of laws, incorporation with other laws
and other preliminary and formal

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

matters, consist of amendments to other

laws, where the amended laws are
themselves included in the Revised
Edition;
(j) all forms, where the omission can
conveniently be made;
(k) all validating provisions; and
(l) all subsidiary legislation made under
laws omitted from the Revised Edition
by virtue of the preceding provisions of
this section.

Editorial 8.-(1) Subject to section 9 in the preparation of

powers of
revision the Revised Edition, the Chief Parliamentary
Draftsman has and may exercise the following
powers-
(a) consolidate into one law any two or more
laws in pari materia, making the
alterations thereby rendered necessary
and affixing to it such date as may seem
most convenient;
(b) alter the order of sections in any Act and
in all cases where it may be necessary to
do so, renumber the sections;
(c) alter the form or arrangement of any
section by transferring words, by
combining it in whole or in part with
another section or other sections or by
dividing it into two or more subsections;
(d) divide enactments whether consolidated
or not into parts or divisions;
(e) transfer any provision contained in an
enactment from that enactment to any
other enactment to which it more
properly belongs;
(f) arrange the laws, whether consolidated
or not, in any group or sequence that
may be convenient irrespective of the

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date of enactment;
(g) add a short title to any law which may
require it or alter the short title of any
enactment;
(h) supply, delete, or alter marginal notes;
(i) correct references and cross references;
(j) shorten and simplify the phraseology of
any legislation;
(k) correct any grammatical, clerical or
typographical errors or inconsistencies
in the existing laws, and for that purpose
may make additions, omissions or
alterations in the wording but without
affecting the meaning of any legislation;
(l) make such formal alterations as to
names, localities, offices and otherwise
as may be necessary to bring any law
into conformity with the circumstances
of the United Republic;
(m) make such adaptations or alterations in
any law as may appear to be necessary
or proper as a consequence of any
change in the constitution of any
country;
(n) arrange the laws in such groups and
sequence and in such chapters or other
manner as seems convenient;
(o) do all things relating to form and method
which may be necessary for the
perfecting of the Revised Edition or any
annual supplement.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the
power conferred by subsection (1), in the exercise of
the functions pursuant to those provisions-
(a) footnotes and other annotations may be
added by way of amplification,
reference or cross reference or may be
deleted or altered;

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

(b) any words, expressions, nomenclature or

provisions which have become obsolete
may be omitted and replaced, where
necessary, by appropriate words,
expressions, nomenclature or provisions;
(c) references to amounts of money in a
currency other than the present currency
of Tanzania may, where appropriate, be
altered to references to the equivalent
amounts in the currency of Tanzania;
(d) where the meaning of any provision can
be more conveniently expressed by
reliance on any provision of the law
applicable to the interpretation of laws,
or where the meaning of any provision
that relies on any provision of that law
or that is expressed by reference to any
other provision, can be more
conveniently expressed without any
such reliance or reference, the necessary
alterations may be made (including the
provision, alteration or deletion of a
definition);
(e) Ordinances may be restyled “Acts”; and
(f) any other thing relating to form or
method may be done that may be
necessary or desirable for the perfecting
of the Revised Edition, whether by
analogy with the preceding provisions of
this section or otherwise, and in
particular any omission or alteration
may be made that is consequential on, or
is made desirable by any omission or
alteration made under this section or
section 7.
(3) The powers conferred by this section are
cumulative, each such power is additional to and not
in derogation of any other such power and any two

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or more such powers may be exercised together.

(4) The Chief Parliamentary Draftsman may,
from time to time, issue general directions, not
inconsistent with the provisions of this section as to
drafting style and concerning the manner and form
of presentation of laws in the Revised Edition, the
exercise of his functions and powers under those
provisions and generally for implementing those
provisions, and with a particular view to improving
and standardising the form and drafting of laws.

(5) Directions issued under subsection (4)

shall be published in the Gazette and then be tabled
in the National Assembly.

Regarding 9.-(1) Nothing in the provisions of section 5,

alterations of
substance 6, 7 or 8 shall be construed as implying any power
in the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman to make any
alteration in the matter, substance or effect of any
law, but this provision is directory only.
(2) No law omitted under the authority of this
Act from the Revised Edition or any annual
supplement shall be deemed to be without force and
validity by reason only of its omission.
(3) If it appears desirable that, in the
preparation of the Revised Edition, alterations not
otherwise authorised by this Act should be made,
the Chief parliamentary Draftsman may cause a Bill
or other appropriate draft law to be prepared, setting
out those alterations, which shall be submitted to the
Minister and be dealt with in the ordinary way.
(4) If it appears desirable for the purposes of
the preparation and perfecting of the Revised
Edition, or for any purpose associated with it, that
further or other legislative provision be made, the
Chief Parliamentary Draftsman shall cause a Bill or
other appropriate draft law to be prepared, which
shall be submitted to the Minister and be dealt with

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in the ordinary way.

(5) A Bill or other draft law prepared pursuant
to Subsection (3) or (4) may provide for either or
both of the following-
(a) that it shall apply to the Revised Edition
as if it had come into force immediately
before the effective date; or
(b) That it shall not be included in the
Revised Edition.

Text of 10.-(1) Where any law to which this Act

documents
included in applies sets out the text of any agreement, treaty or
laws other document, nothing in this Act allows any
alteration to the text of that agreement, treaty or
other document.

(2) There may be included in the Revised

Edition or in any annual Supplement, in a
convenient form-
(a) any laws which were in force in or in
relation to the country or a part of the
country before Independence;
(b) any foreign laws;
(c) any other documents or materials, that
are, in the opinion of the Chief
Parliamentary Draftsman, of sufficient
constitutional or other importance to
warrant the inclusion, but they do not
form part of the Revised Edition for the
purposes of this Act.
(3) There may be included in the Revised
Edition-
(a) any laws made before, but not yet in
force on the effective date; and
(b) any laws made after the effective date, in
such manner and with such annotations
as the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman
thinks necessary or desirable in order to

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•explain their actual or prospective

effect, and to conform with the
requirements of the Revised Edition.
(4) The provisions of this Act, with such
modifications as are necessary, apply to and in
relation to laws to which subsection (3) of this
section applies in the same manner as they apply to
laws to which this Act applies.

Records of 11. In the preparation of a Revised Edition

number, date,
arrangement and each annual supplement, the following
etc., of laws provisions shall apply, that is to say-
(a) the number and year of each Act shall be
set out at the head thereof, and when
another law is incorporated in it, the
number and year of the principal Act
and of each amending or incorporated
law shall be set out in the margin at the
beginning of the Act;
(b) the date on which an Act came into
operation shall be set out immediately
below the long title of the Act;
(c) each Act, other than an amending Act,
shall form a separate Chapter, and the
Chapters shall be numbered, and
arranged under such titles as the Chief
Parliamentary Draftsman thinks fit; and
(d) every booklet which supersedes an
earlier booklet shall contain a reference
to the booklet which it supersedes.

Bringing into 12.-(1) The President may from time to time,

force and
validity and by proclamation published in the Gazette, approve
effect of any part or section of the Revised Edition or any
Revised annual supplement published and order that it shall
Edition
come into force from such date as may be specified
in the proclamation.

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(2) From the date specified in the

proclamation, the part or section of the Revised
Edition or annual supplement described in such
proclamation shall, subject to the provisions of
section 13, be deemed to be and shall be noted, in
all courts of law, as the proper law of Tanzania in
respect of the laws included therein.
(3) Except in so far as concerns any law
omitted from the Revised Edition under section 6 on
and after the date referred to in subsection (1), the
Revised Edition is the authoritative text of the laws
of Tanzania according to the respective tenors-
(a) in the case of a law to which this Act
applies, or of a law included in
accordance with paragraph (a) of
subsection (3) of section 10 of this Act
as at the effective date but subject to the
effect of any law included under
paragraph (b) of that subsection;
(b) in the case of a law included in
accordance with paragraph (b) of
subsection (3) of section 10 of this Act
as at the effective date.
(4) Nothing in this Act gives to subsidiary
legislation included in the Revised Edition any
validity other than that which it would have had if it
had been made by the appropriate authority on the
date referred to in section 12(1).

Rectification 13.-(1) For the purpose of rectifying any

of errors
clerical, printing or other literary error appearing in
the Revised Edition or in any annual supplement or
for the purpose of rectifying, in a manner not
inconsistent with his powers under this Act, any
other error so appearing, the Chief Parliamentary
Draftsman may from time to time, by notice
published in the Gazette, give directions as to the
rectification of any such error.

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(2) Any notice issued under the authority of

this section shall have effect from the date on which
the law to which it relates had effect as part of the
Revised Edition or as an annual supplement, as the
case may be, under the provisions of section 12 and
that law shall be read and construed accordingly.

Continuance 14. On the date referred to in section 12, all

of force of
certain subsidiary legislation-
subsidiary (a) made under a law to which this Act
enactments applies;
(b) in force immediately before the effective
date; or
(c) omitted from the Revised Edition under
section 6 or 7 of this Act,
shall be deemed to have been in force on
the effective date as if it had been made
under the corresponding provision in the
Revised Edition.

Effects of 15. Where any factual statement is made in

annotations
relation to any law to which this Act applies in any
annotation in the Revised Edition, that statement is,
unless the contrary intention appears, prima facie
evidence of the fact so stated.

Constructions 16. Where, in any law or in any document of

of reference
to repealed, whatever kind, reference is made to any law
etc., laws repealed or otherwise affected by or under the
operation of this Act, such reference shall, where
necessary and practicable, be deemed to extend and
apply to the corresponding law in the Revised
Edition or annual supplement, as the case may be
and all cross-references in any laws shall, where
such cross references are affected by the operation
of this Act, be read and construed with such
modifications as circumstances may require.

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Sealed copies 17.-(1) Three bound copies of each volume of

to be
deposited the Revised Edition shall be dated and signed by the
President and shall be sealed with the Public Seal of
the United Republic.
(2) One of the sealed copies shall be deposited
with the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of
Tanzania, one shall be held in the record of the
National Assembly and one shall be held in such
custody as the President directs.

Distribution 18-(1) Copies of the Revised Edition and

of Revised
Edition annual supplements of any booklet shall be
distributed among such persons, officers,
departments and institutions and upon such
conditions as the Minister may direct.
(2) There shall be offered to the public such
number of copies of the Revised Edition and each
annual supplement and of any booklet at such prices
as the Minister may direct.
(3) Any person may become a subscriber to
the Revised Edition or the annual supplements, or
both, on payment of such fee or annual fee, or both,
as the Minister may direct.
(4) The Government Printer or other person
authorized by the Minister shall, on the application
of a subscriber, supply him with a copy of all
booklets which have been published in the year of
application.

Replacement 19.-(1) The Chief Parliamentary Draftsman

and addition
materials shall from time to time cause to be issued-
(a) replacement sheets incorporating any
amendments to the text of laws included
in the Revised Edition;
(b) directions for the removal of provisions
that have been repealed or have expired,
have had their effect or have been

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superseded, or that otherwise might have

been omitted from the Revised Edition
under section 7; and
(c) the text of new law to be incorporated in
the Revised Edition.
(2) Each replacement sheet, and the text of
each new law, shall-
(a) specify the date as at which it was
prepared; and
(b) state the part of the Revised Edition that
it replaces, or where it should be
inserted in the Revised edition, and shall
form part of the Revised Edition as if the
date specified under paragraph (a) of
this subsection were the effective date.
(3) In preparing a replacement sheet or the
text of a new law to be incorporated into the
Revised Edition, the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman
may exercise, as appropriate, all or any of the
powers conferred by section 7, 8 or 9 of this Act.

Judicial 20.-(1) All courts and persons acting judicially

notice of
Revised shall take judicial notice of the text of the laws to
Edition which this Act applies as included in the Revised
Edition.
(2) Except where this Act specifically provides
to the contrary, no footnotes or other annotations,
and no explanatory matter, printed in the Revised
Edition in relation to any provision shall be deemed
to form part of that provision or be judicially
noticed.
(3) The mere production of a volume
purporting to be a volume of the Revised Edition
and to have been printed by a Government Printer
is, in all courts and before all persons acting
judicially, prima facie evidence that the volume is a
volume of the Revised Edition.
(4) The copies of the Revised Edition sealed

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 Laws Revision Act [CAP. 4 R.E. 2015]

under 13 section 17, and copies of replacement

sheets and new laws prepared under section 19 and
certified by the chief parliamentary Draftsman to be
such copies, as affected by any rectification under
section 13, are for all purposes conclusive evidence
of the texts of the laws to which they relate.
(5) A law that is not included in the Revised
Edition may be proved in any way in which it might
have been proved immediately before the effective
date.
(6) The provisions of this section are in
addition to and not in derogation of any other law
relating to evidence or judicial notice.

Continuance 21. The inclusion of a law in, or the exclusion

of text of
Revised of a law from, the Revised Edition does not affect
Laws for any civil or criminal proceedings previous
certain commenced under that law, but every such
purposes.
proceeding may be continued and everything in
relation to it may be done in all respect as if the law
had not been so included or excluded.

Place of this 22.-(1) This Act and any Act made in

Act in the
Revised accordance with section 9 shall be included at or
Edition about the beginning of the text of the Revised
Edition.
(2) Section 7 of this Act does not apply to or
in relation to the printing an Act in accordance with
the proceeding provisions of this section.
(3) All notices under subsection (1) of section
6, shall be printed with the Acts referred to in
subsection (1) of this section.

Repeal of 23.-(1) [Repeals the Revised Laws and Annual

R.L. Cap.
356 Revision Ordinance].
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act,
the text of the laws in the former Revised Laws
shall be superseded by the respective texts of the

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laws contained in the Revised Edition and annual

supplements, prepared under this Act.

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